


The Indulgence of Spite and Frozen Vengeance

by Kiiratam



Series: Tandem Tests with RWBY & JNPR [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Beehaw, Canon Compliant, Cardin suffers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Glynda is a hardass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: Pyrrha and Yang are taking a test for Professor Goodwitch's class.Takes place between Volumes 1 and 2. (My BMBLB fic index)





	The Indulgence of Spite and Frozen Vengeance

**Author's Note:**

> [Recommended listening.](https://youtu.be/UuAZ4WhbI8o)

Pyrrha tightened her grip on Yang, just trying to stay on. They were hurdling down the dirt path at what felt like an absurd speed, even though she knew it couldn't have that fast. Not the way they kept turning.

  
Yang started a left turn, leaning into it, and Pyrrha resisted the urge to help. She didn't want to unbalance her. So she just followed Yang's advice, and looked over Yang's left shoulder. The way Yang had explained it, that would shift her weight just enough to be predictable. And when Pyrrha had looked at Blake for confirmation - not that she didn't trust Yang! - Blake had just nodded.

  
Pyrrha still trusted Yang, but there was a difference between knowing that Yang was an expert motorcycler (motorcyclist? She'd have to ask), and rocketing along a dirt path in the woods, wondering if the next turn was going to be the one that hurt. It hadn't happened yet. And they were almost done with the route.

  
Straightening out of the turn, Yang accelerated. The trees fell away as they burst into a wide clearing, and Pyrrha's perceptions slowed. In the back of her head, she started counting real seconds, started to breath in for a four count. The red flag flapped in the breeze at the far end of the clearing. They were nearly done. One last challenge.

  
Holding on tightly with her legs, she let go of Yang's waist. Miló flew into her hands, already configuring into a rifle. And Pyrrha scanned for targets, starting over her left shoulder. Miló was already pointed that way, and switching sides was time-consuming.

  
Two in the tree-line. Ruby would do the math in her head. If they were longer shots, Pyrrha could do that too. But not as fast. She wondered what Ruby's trick was, or if it was just relentless practice. These targets were close enough that Pyrrha could aim with her gut. At least, now that she'd gotten a feel for how riding Bumblebee threw off her aim.

  
Center-mass, head. Center-mass, head. Pyrrha continued her sweep to the front. One in the tree-tops, one hidden in a dip in the ground. Center-mass, head. Head, head. She hadn't had a good angle for the center-mass shot. But the extra time spent wasn't good. Miló pinged, and she swapped out her clip. Breathe out, four count.

  
Yang let go of Bumblebee's handlebars. The first time she'd done that, Pyrrha had nearly crashed them by panicking. She'd used her Semblance to prevent that, and she didn't think Yang had noticed. The nearly-crashing yes, that she'd righted Bumblebee with her Semblance, no. Probably. Yang was smarter than she let on, and Ruby and Weiss definitely knew. And Blake had shared _her_ secret with JNPR. Pyrrha thought that Ruby would have asked before telling anyone else, though. But still. Yang _might_ know. Pyrrha would have to be careful the next time they sparred.

  
Ember Celica roared as Yang mowed down the short-range targets. Pyrrha cracked off six more shots as she swept her aim forward, downing three more targets at the trees. As she changed grip on Miló, she sent Akoúo̱ ricocheting out to take out the three targets Yang had only winged. They were still probably mission kills, but she wanted to make sure.

  
Center-mass, head. _Ping_. Pyrrha reloaded, caught Akoúo̱, and kept target hunting. Nearly shot a startled bird, but managed to swerve the bullet into a nearly target. That would be embarrassing; it had barely been a hit.

  
Two clips later, and Yang hauled Bumblebee to a halt at the red flag. Pyrrha reached out and slapped the button on the flagpole, ending the timer. She started breathing normally again.

  
The mechanism on the flagpole unfolded, and Professor Goodwitch looked back at them from the display. "We're tallying your results now, Miss Nikos. Stand by." The screen shut off.

  
Pyrrha pulled off Yang's spare helmet. Blake's helmet, really. Yang switched off Bumblebee and took off her own helmet. She looked over her shoulder at Pyrrha. "How do you think we did?"

  
"It was an unusual test." Pyrrha glanced at the blank display. "I think Professor Goodwitch may have watched too many Vacuo gunslinger movies."

  
Yang grinned back at her. "'Fill your hands, you son of a-'"

  
"-Yes, that one." Pyrrha cut in hastily. "I just don't know how practical of a test it was."

  
"Target acquisition at speed, compensating for unexpected motion, picking up new skills with no preparation." Yang shrugged. "Seems like a good test to me, even if you never have to fire from the back of a motorcycle." She flipped a switch on her motorcycle's console, and it stabilized. Yang pulled a leg up and turned around in her seat, facing Pyrrha.

  
"I suppose."

  
"It's not like she can make you take the same test as everyone else. You're already fighting multiple people at once, and doing tag-team matches."

  
Pyrrha was struck by a sudden wave of embarrassment. She didn't know if Yang had taken her test yet. Or if this had counted as her test. "How about you?" That was ambiguous enough that it might work.

  
"Easy extra credit. I get extra points based on your performance, since I had to teach you how to ride in five minutes, and then not kill both of us. Goodwitch did let me ride the course once, before she got the targets set up." Yang blew out a breath. "Not looking forward to my test, though. 1v2, and the first person you eliminate gets replaced? Rough."

  
Patting Yang's shoulder, Pyrrha said, "I'm sure you'll do great! Your Semblance will be very useful."

  
"Always is. It's just deciding when to use it. Charge up while I'm fighting the first two, knock out whoever I can, and tank the new person's opening shot. Then hit the new person, and finish off the last one." Yang shook her head. "That's the plan, at least."

  
"I don't know if Professor Goodwitch is seeing _if_ you win so much as _how_ you lose." Pyrrha realized that could be taken the wrong way, and tried to correct herself. "It's very important to identify your weaknesses, after all. And if you do win, that's even better!"

  
"I just hope Cardin's one of mine."

  
Seeing Cardin's everything punched in _would_ be immensely satisfying. Pyrrha wondered if Professor Goodwitch would let her watch everyone else's tests. But why was Yang... Pyrrha felt a sudden stab of concern. It wasn't because Cardin had bullied Jaune, was it? If Yang was going after Jaune, Pyrrha knew she didn't have a chance. Jaune mooning over Weiss was bad enough, but Yang... She was gorgeous, and friendly, and funny, and she could actually flirt with people and not just stand there like an idiot as The Moment curled up and died and the dreaded Grimm of Awkward Silences dominated the room. If Yang wanted Jaune, she'd have him. In a day, a week at absolute most.

  
Pyrrha fought down her mounting terror. "Has he been bullying Blake? Or Ruby?" She didn't want to hear that Cardin was up to his old tricks, she really didn't, but considering the alternative... Pyrrha accepted the resulting guilt. She'd have to do something nice for the two of them.

  
"Nah, nothing like that. He, uh..." Yang paused, and Pyrrha tried to keep her focus on what Yang was saying, and not spiral off into self-flagellation and fear. "He apparently talked with some of my old Signal friends, and got the wrong idea. So he asked if I wanted to go on a date with him."

  
"He _what_? You didn't-"

  
"Oh no. No no no no." Yang made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "I- may have laughed in his face."

  
Pyrrha sighed in relief. "So what did he do?"

  
"Besides _almost_ saying a bunch of rude things? He asked if I could set him up with Blake, since, and I quote, 'I guess _you're_ not interested in all this.' And then he flexed and kissed his bicep."

  
"...He has no idea, does he?"

  
Yang shook her head. "Blake _is_ really good at hiding. And I've been exposed to Nora's muscles. And Sun's, I guess. But Nora's are more impressive."

  
"So what did you say?"

  
"He kept talking for a bit, about how Blake was all 'exotic' and 'the quiet ones are always the freaky ones.'"

  
"Ew."

  
"Yeeeeeeeah. When he actually shut up for a moment, I just told him Blake was already seeing someone."

  
Pyrrha frowned. "I suppose, if there was ever a time to lie..."

  
Yang grinned. "Oh, you don't get it. His face nearly fell off. Because he assumed it was Sun. And if there's someone that just _ruins_ all of Cardin's assumptions about how the world works, it's Sun." Yang started ticking items off on her fingers. "He's shredded, he's foreign, he's a Faunus. And, he's kicked the butts of everyone in CRDL _except_ for Cardin. Who he hasn't fought yet."

  
"Could you run me through those points?" Pyrrha really, _really_ wanted to fully appreciate Cardin's suffering. She wasn't a spiteful person, she told herself. But she would absolutely indulge herself for this.

  
"Okay, so - Cardin is from one of the smaller combat schools. So he's used to being the best around, and then he came to Beacon. So he thinks that he's all muscley and then Sun walks in, shirtless. Cardin's a Vale local, and- well, you've seen how he gets in Professor Oobleck's class."

  
"He idolizes the Vale military."

  
"Yup. And Sun's from Vacuo, which has a completely different viewpoint on militaries. Especially the sort of aggressive, conquering military that Cardin likes."

  
Pyrrha sighed. "I suppose we're lucky he wasn't born back before the Great War. He could have gotten a lot of people killed."

  
"Yeah, I bet Cardin would have _loved_ the Great War. And the Faunus Rights Counter-Revolution. And speaking of..."

  
"He hates Faunus. Even Velvet, and she's the absolute sweetest person I know. She makes Nora look dour."

  
Nodding, Yang said. "Yeah. It's one of his least attractive features, and there's a lot not to like. And while Velvet is precious, she's also a big advocate for peaceful resolutions. Which really don't work on bullies. Which brings us to the final point: Cardin and Sun haven't fought yet. But Cardin is pretty sure he's going to lose. Because he saw how badly Sun beat the rest of his team, and Cardin knows how his team compares to himself in a fight."

  
"And because he knows he's going to lose, he will."

  
"And, more importantly, he's not going to want to go after Sun. Even if he does think Sun and Blake are dating." Yang smiled. "There you go, Pyrrha. Your 'Cardin is suffering' update."

  
Pyrrha looked down at her knees. "Am I that obvious?"

  
Yang laughed. "The only obvious thing was how much you were enjoying our talk." She reached down and patted Pyrrha's leg. "It's okay, you don't have to like everyone. Some people are jerks."

  
The display flickered to life again, catching Professor Goodwitch as she adjusted her glasses. "Miss Nikos, excellent work as always. You've passed handily. I'll have the target facsimiles and my comments to you within the week. Miss Xiao Long, you may return at your leisure."

  
Pyrrha started putting her helmet back on as Yang turned back around.

  
"Hey, Pyrrha? Want to take the direct route back?" Yang pulled her helmet on.

  
"You mean, off-road?"

  
"Yeah, I installed new shocks and I want to stress-test them. It'll be rough, so if you just want to take the trail, that's fine."

  
Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Yang's waist again. "Why go easy on ourselves?"

  
Yang snorted. "Off-road it is." She flipped Bumblebee on.


End file.
